As part of the Eid special series,

(e) Wattalapam jelly pudding

Originally from the Sri Lankan Malay cuisine, wattalapam has become a dessert that is made by all communities in Sri Lanka.  This recipe of my mother is an adaptation of the traditional wattalapam into a jelly pudding.

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Thick coconut milk – 1 cup (this can be obtained by blending ¼ cup freshly scraped coconut with 1 cup of water)
• Egg – 1 (can use 2 tbsp corn flour as a substitute)
• Jaggery – ½ to 1 cup, depending on taste
• Cardamom – 3 or 4, crushed
• Vanilla extract – 2 tsp
• Agar agar – 2 tbsp
• Hot water – 6 tbsp

Method:

1. Mix the coconut milk and jaggery.
2. Lightly whisk the egg before adding the jaggery-milk mixture. Blend the mixture well.
3. Add the crushed cardamom and vanilla extract to the mixture.
4. Cook the pudding mixture on low heat, stirring continuously, for about 10 mins.
5. Remove the thickened mixture from the heat and keep aside to cool.
6. Take 2 tsp agar agar powder and mix with 6 tbsp hot water.
7. Beat the agar agar mix into the slightly cooled pudding mixture.
8. Cool and refrigerate.

Recipe Source: Raji Thillainathan.